There's only two weeks before Halloween and one of the best ways to spend the holiday is to binge-watch your favorite horror TV shows. But if you are looking for a ghostly drama marathon Korean style, here are five Korean dramas you should add to your list. Take note that some ghosts here are actually more lovable than scary.
1. "The Master's Sun"
This series tells the story of Tae Gong Shil (Gong Hyo Jin), who started to see ghosts after an accident. She is living a lonely life restricted in her rooftop room, but her life changes after meeting Joo Joong Won (So Ji Sub), the stingy CEO of Kingdom. Gong Shil's ability to see ghosts is neutralized when she touches Joong Won. Joong Won, on the other hand, needs Gong Shil's ability to solve the tragic kidnapping incident he went through in the past.
In each episode, the two help resolve grudges of ghosts with different stories, making each episode feel like watching a mini movie. The series includes comedy and lighthearted moments; the ghosts, however, are scary enough to make me scream and give me nightmares. Examples will be the female ghost with one shoe who is pursuing Gong Shil, as well as the creepy doll ghost.
2. "Ghost-seeing Detective, Cheo Yong"
Well, the title says it all. This crime-suspense drama follows the story of a detective who can see ghosts, Yoon Cheo Yong (Oh Ji Ho). He uses his ability to solve unusual cases. However, his partner died, and from being an elite detective he became a district cop and lived a life detached from ghosts for seven years.
However, Cheo Yong made a mistake of talking back to a ghost of a high school girl, Han Na Young (Jun Hyo Seong). Na Young can't remember how she died. She also cannot take a step away from the district police station where she has been as far as she can remember. Yet she can possess a girl detective, Ha Sun Woo (Oh Ji Eun), who became Cheo Yong's new partner.
Like "The Master's Sun," the protagonists in this series solve one case per episode, but the main conflict also develops as the show goes on. It also has some funny moments but this is a little more serious - you cannot expect romance (though I actually shipped for Cheo Yong and Sun Woo). This series only has 10 episodes but a season 2 was aired in 2015.
3. "The Night Watchman's Journal"
A historical suspense fantasy series about Lee Rin, a prince who was banished from the palace after his father, the King, killed the Queen while under a spell and committed suicide. His older half-brother Gi San became King and Rin lived a carefree life away from the palace.
However, his life changed 12 years later when he met Do Ha, a young shaman who is looking for her sister. He learns that a Taoist priest named Sadam is trying to resurrect the dragon god using spirits and decided to catch him by reorganizing the Night Watchmen, a group founded by his father.
The series was very good at the start, yet in the end I don't think the drama utilized its full potential especially the concept of the group called Night Watchmen. But it is still a good watch.
4. "Let's Fight Ghost!"
Park Bong Pal (Ok Taecyeon) is a college student who has the ability to see spirits and uses it to exorcise ghosts (only the weak ones) to make money. In a haunted school building he met Kim Hyun Ji (Kim So Hyun), the ghost of a student who died the day before her college entrance exams. Hyun Ji accidentally kisses Bong Pal and she discovers that he can actually be the one who holds the secret to her past and might free her from being a wandering ghost and pass on to the next life. Hyun Ji pesters Bong Pal until he allows her to live with him and the two fight alongside each other to take on stronger ghost.
Along the way the two realized they like each other, but they are unaware that they are followed by an evil spirit who caused Hyun Ji's accident and also the reason why Bong Pal can see ghosts. Despite the huge age gap, (Taecyeon is actually nearing his 30s while So Hyun is in her teens) this one actually delivered a good romance with heartfelt and sweet moments. The scriptwriter also did a good job in not making any makjang scenes as the two embarked on a forbidden love as human-ghost pair.
5. "Oh My Ghostess"
This one is more of a rom-com series than suspense, but it did make our heart's race with Kang Sun Woo (Jo Jung Suk) and Na Bong Sun's (Park Bo Young) cute love story. Na Bong Sun is a girl who lives a lonely life because of her ability to see ghosts due to her shaman grandmother (Lee Jung Eun). She works as an assistant at Sun Restaurant owned by Sun Woo. Bong Sun was possessed by a virgin ghost Shin Soon Ae (Kim Seul Gie), who was determined that losing her virginity will resolve her grudge.
At first, Bong Sun didn't like Soon Ae possessing her but finally made a deal with her promising she should make Sun Woo, whom she has a secret crush on, fall in love with her. The two have contrasting personalities. Bong Sun is very timid and always says "sorry" while Soon Ae is lively and confident. Sun Woo notices the sudden change in Bong Sun's personality and becomes attracted to her.
With the character description, Bong Sun seems to be a hateful character but Park Bo Young's portrayal is so good that we can't help but love her character. The main conflict of the story connects Soon Ae's death with Sun-woo's brother-in-law, Choi Sung Jae (Lim Ju Hwan), a seemingly kind police officer, who has a dark personality.
